Washing machine



y 1, 1959 1.. T. ROCHEFORT 2,395,319

WASHING MACHINE Filed March 29, 1956 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 2,895,319 WASHING MACHINE Leo T. Rochefort, Baroda Tov msl iip,

Berrien County, Mich.

The present invention relates to novelLwashing machine, and, more particularly, to novel machine adaptable for washing clothes and also adaptable for washing dishes and the like. This application is acontinuation-. inpart of my co-pending applicationSejrial No. 431 ,041, filed May 20, 1954, and now abandoned. b 7

.An important object of the present inventio'n is to provide a novel washing machine capable of washing clothes or the like in a "muchshorter time than prior machines Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel machine capable of eifectivelyand rapidlywash ing dishes or the like and capable of removing food wastes or the like such, for example, as "dried eggs from the dishes so as to minimize manual scraping and rinsing of the dishes heretofore required when the dishes are to be cleaned in prior washing'machines. b

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel washing machine of the above described type which operates quickly and efficiently by creating high frequency vibrations in thewashing liq-uid and by .creating, small air bubbles within the liquid which pinged against the articles to be washed. b p

Another object of the present invention is tojprovide a novel vibratory impeller for a washing maehine .capable of producing high frequency vibrations and a multi- A drain 18 is connected with the tub and may be associated with a power driven pump, not shown, if desired. A vibrator or impeller 20 is mounted. within the tub on an upright shaft 22 which extends through the bottom of the tub to a transmission 24. The transmission 24 and a driving motor 26 are mounted on a base 28 which. is preferably mounted on yieldable cushion supports 30 within the base cabinet. Bearing means 32 and 34 are provided in top and bottom walls of the transmission housing to support the shaft 22 for oscillating movement.

The transmissionincludes bevelled gears 36 and 38 driven from the motor 26 by suitable pulleys and a belt 40 and driving anupwardly extending rotatably supported eccentric 42. The eccentric 42 projects through and engages the. sides of a slot 44 in a crank arm 46.

The crank arm extends from an integral hub 48 which is rigidly connected with the shaft 22 by a key 50 or any other suitable means. Thus, the shaft 22 and the impeller or vibrator carried thereby may be oscillated at a high frequency which may be predetermined by the motor speed, the relative sizes of pulleys 52 and 54 about which the belt 40 extends and the relative sizes of the bevelled gears 36 and 38. It should be understood that other suitable drive means capable of oscillating the shaft 22 at high frequencies may be provided in place are llIla.

tude of small air bubbles in the washing liquid and relatively slow circulatory movement of the washin'gliquidi Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel washing machine of the above described type, which is. of simple eonstruction and .may be economically manufacturedandoperated.f V a A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a novel Washing machine of the above described type which is capable of effectively washing the articles without the addition. of soaps or detergents. p, A further object of thepresent inventionis to provide a novel washing machine which minimizes tangling or injury to the articles during the washing operation.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein: w

Fig. lis an elevational view partially broken away showing a washing machine embodying the principles of the present invention; a a- Fig. 2, isa sectional. view. takemalong lin'e 2l2 in Fig.1; w

Fig. 3 is an enlarged somewhat 'diagrammaticview illustrating a portionof the. action of; one of thelimpeller blades Within the water. or. washingliquid; andm Fig. 4 is a fragmentary .sectionahview takeri along line4-4inFig.1..

Referring now morespecificallyto the drawings whereinlike parts are designated by the same numeralsthroughout the various figures, a washing machine ltljincorporatingthe principles of" the present invention comprises a tub 12 of any desired configuration supported on a base cabinet 14 and provided with a removable cover 16.

of the drive means shown. Preferably, the drive means is such that the frequency of oscillation is in excess of about 3600 cycles per minute and the amplitude of oscillation is less than about 5 so that movement of the impeller or vibrator is less than about one-eighth of. an inch. Higher and/or supersonic frequencies are desirable for increasing the rate of the washing action and for more effectively washing larger masses of clothes or other articles, and shorter amplitudes of impeller or Vibrator oscillations such, for example, as one-sixteenth of an inch or less are usually most desirable for the reasons discussed .in detail below. However, in certain instances frequencies as low as about 2,000 cycles per minute may be utilized, but the speed of washing is reduced.

The shaft 22 projects through a corrugated seal 56 secured to the bottom of the tub 12. As a result of the short amplitude of oscillation of the shaft 22, the seal 56 may be of flexible material fixedly clamped to the shaft as at 58 and sealed around its periphery to the tub as at 60. Angular movement of the shaft is accommodated that both their upper and lower ends are opened and unobstructed, and in the embodiment shown, mid-por-' tions of radially inwardly. located. margins of the vanes are welded .or otherwise secured to .a bushing 66 which is rigidly connected to the shaft 22 by a pin 68 or other suitable means. It should be noted that the impeller vanes are located so that their opened upper ends at least break the surface 70 and preferably extend substantially above the surfaceof abody of water or washing liquid 72 in the tub. It is to be understood that the level or surface 70 is the normal maximum level to which the tub is filled. It should also be noted that the vertical length of the vanes is relatively short so that the lower ends of the vanes are spaced well above the bottom of the tub. H b

The vanes are preferably of concavo-couveX cross section so that upon forward or clockwise movement as viewed in Fig. 2, the forward orconcave surfaces of the vanes tend to push the body of liquid in a clockwise direc tion and upon rearward or counterclockwise movement of the vanes, the back or convex surfaces slip relatively easily through the water. It is important to note that Patented July 21, 1959,

the vanes are tilted from their lower ends angularly around the shaft in a rearward or counterclockwise direction so that their inclined concave surfaces face slightly upwardly and their trailing. convex surfaces face slightly downwardly. Furthermore, the vanes are preferably tapered slightly toward their upper ends and are slightly spirally formed and inclined or tilted from their lower ends radially inwardly toward the shaft.

During a washing opeartion, the vibrator or impeller 20 is oscillated at high frequencies in the manner" dc scribed above so as to create high frequency vibrations or shock waves in the body of water or cleaning liquid for loosening foreign matter from articles being washed. Furthermore, the body of water tends to circulate in one direction as described above so that the water is forced against or through the articles being cleaned to wash the foreign material from the articles. Another important action of the impeller vanes is somewhat diagrammatically illustrated in an exaggerated manner in Fig. 3. More specifically, Fig. 3 shows the vane 62 moving in the direction of the arrow or, in other words, moving forwardly. When the vane is moving in this manner at a high speed, the trailing or convex surface is sepa-- rated from the body of water so that air from above the water surface is drawn downwardly into a resulting space 74 between the trailing vane surface and the water. Then upon reverse or rearward movement of the vane, the air bubble which has been drawn into the space 74 is broken up into many tiny bubbles 76 The bubbles 76 are directed downwardly by the slightly downwardly facing convex surface of the vane and around and below the unobstructed lower end of the vane which is spaced above the tub bottom so that the bubbles are distributed through the body of water. These. tiny air bubbles ultimately impinge against the clothes or articles being washed and greatly assist in the removal of dirt or for eign material therefrom. It is desirable that the bubbles. 76 be quite small and, therefore, the amplitude of the vane movement should be less. than. about one-eighth of an inch and, preferably, about one-sixteenth of' an inch or less so that the original air bubble drawn into the space 74 is small enough to permit it to be broken up into tiny bubbles 76.

v During the forward movement of the vanes, the water isj forced upwardly along their slightly upwardly facing concave surfaces and a jet 78 of the water isprojected from the open upper ends of the vanes as shown in Fig. 3. A downwardly flared cap 80 is secured to the upper end of the shaft 22 for intercepting the jets of water and' deflecting them back into the tub. There is, thus, created in the tub a circulation that moves downwardly along the outside of the tub, thence inwardly and upwardly along the concave surfaces of the vanes; This circulation combined with the previously mentioned annular circulation imparts a spiral motion to the water so that the tiny air bubbles will be distributed throughout the water and also imparts a spiral motion to clothes or the like being washed effectively to expose all portions of the clothes for effective cleaning. It has been found that the impeller vanes must at least initially break the surface of the body of water within the tub in order to obtain the desired circulation and agitation of' the water and" in order to permit air to be drawn into the body of Water and broken up into the, tiny bubbles mentioned above.

An average batch of domestic laundry may be efiectively Washed in the machine of this invention in about three minutes or less without the aid of soaps or similar. foaming agents which are undesirable since they tend to clog the water. However, water softeners or' none foaming detergents may be used if desired. Obviously, hot water facilitates the washingv operation. and. sterilization of the articles.

In order to adapt the machine for use as a dishwasher,

a wire rack, not shown, or the like for supporting the individual dishes may be positioned in the tub around the impeller. Since the impeller or vibrator does not rotate and merely oscillates through a short angle, for example, from about 2 to 5 degrees, the center of the rack need only be provided with an oblong opening for accommodating the vanes and the greater portion of the volume of the tub and rack is left free to receive a large number of dishes or other articles. It has been found that the washing action provided by the present machine is highly eifective for removing from the dishes any of the usual foreign materials or waste foods, including dried eggs, thereon.

While the preferred form ofthe present invention has been shown and described herein, it is obvious that many structural details may be changed without departing from the spirit and scope. of the appended claims.

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. A washing machine comprising a tub having a predetermined normal liquid level, vibrator means mounted in said tub for oscillation about a substantially vert'icalaxis, means connected with said vibrator means for oscillating the vibrator means about said axis at a frequency in. excess of about 3600 cycles per minute and an amphtude of less than about 5, said vibrator means comprising a generally upright vane including a concave front surface having a first resistance to movement through a body of liquid and a convex back surface having. a resistance to movement through a body of liquid substantially less than said first mentioned resistance, said vane surfaces projecting upwardly at least to said predetermined. level, said vane. surfaces being inclined with respect to said axis. from their lower ends rearwardly of said front surface. so that said front surface faces partially upwardly and said back surface faces partially downwardly, said vane upon; being oscillated at a high frequency and a low amplitude creating high. frequency vibrations in a body of liquid in the tub, drawing air into the liquid and breakingup said air into tiny bubbles,

and spirally circulating the body of liquid.

2. A washing machine, as defined in claim 1, wherein said vibrator. means includes a plurality of angularly spaced vanes substantially identical to and arranged in the same manner as said first mentioned vane, and vane. supportrn-g means connected to mid-portions. of said vanes, said vanes having free upper and lower end portions' spaced from said supporting means.

3'. A washing machine, as defined in claim 1, which includes a deflector mounted above and spaced from the. upper ends of said vane surfaces for deflecting the.

liquid ,forced upwardly from. said front surface back into a body of liquid the tub.

4. A washing machine, as defined in claim. 1, wherein said oscillating means oscillates said vibrator means at: i

an amplitude of less than about one-sixteenth of an inch andat a frequency of between about 3600 cycles per minute and a supersonic frequency,

References Cited in theme of this patent UNITED- STATES PATENTS 63,030 Forney Mar.- 19, 1867 861,670 McVey. July 30, 1907 1,787,220 Walker Dec. 30,- 1930 1,919,541 Davis July 25, 1933 2,111,152" Nelson Mar. 15, 1938 2,142,961? Kuhn Jan. 3, 1939 2,282,332 'Kuhn May 12, 1942 2,468,550 Fruth Apr. 26-, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 {67,021 Great Britain June 9, 1937 779,763 France -..a Jan. 19,1935 

